The present invention relates to archery attachments and, more particularly, to a complex archery bow with video or movie camera attachments.
It has been suggested to mount a single-shot camera to an archery bow, in order to take a picture of the hunted animal or target. A bow and camera combination is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,611,324 and 4,643,159.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,324, issued on Mar. 18, 1997, to Kursinsky, for CAMERA ACTUATING ARCHERY APPARATUS, an archery bow is shown having eccentric cams mounted upon distal ends thereof. The bowstring is carried upon the distally mounted cams. A single-shot camera is mounted upon the grip of the bow. A string attached to the arrow is connected to a trigger mechanism mounted upon the camera. Release of the arrow from the bow actuates the trigger mechanism that activates the camera.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,159, issued to Ryan on Feb. 17, 1987, for AUTOMATIC CAMERA ACTUATING APPARATUS FOR AN ARCHERY BOW, a camera is shown mounted to the grip of an archery bow. The camera is automatically actuated, either by an electric eye or a limit switch mounted upon the bow, and responds to the release of the bowstring.
The purpose of the present invention is to record the entire trajectory of the flight of an arrow to its target. This represents a significant improvement over a single-shot or xe2x80x9cstillxe2x80x9d camera that is limited to only one or perhaps a few static images of the flight of the arrow.
It has been determined that having means to view the actual, continuous flight of the arrow gives the archer a great deal of information about the shot and the shooting technique.
In addition, it has been determined that the average archer derives a great deal of pleasure in watching the flight of the arrow. This is so because in actual competitions and in hunting, the archer cannot actually see the mechanics of flight. Having a flight recording of the arrow trajectory allows the archer to study and enjoy his skill. The use of slow motion and frame freezing provides for observation of minute details of the trajectory, further enhancing the enjoyment and learning process.
The current invention features a movie or video camera that is mounted to a complex archery bow. The camera is mounted upon the end of the vibration damping rod of the archery bow. In one embodiment of the invention, a trembler switch is electrically connected to the camera activation circuit. Release of the arrow from the bow causes the damping rod to vibrate, thus causing the trembler switch to activate the video camera. In an alternate embodiment, the camera can be manually activated to film or record a moving target prior to the release of the arrow from the bow.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an archery apparatus for viewing and recording the trajectory of the flight of an arrow released from an archery bow. The bow may be a simple, complex or cross bow. The archery apparatus comprises a complex archery bow having a vibration damping rod extending therefrom. A movie or video camera is mounted on the distal end of the vibration damping rod, which is aligned with the line of sight of the target. The camera in one embodiment of the invention comprises a trembler switch that is electrically connected to the activating circuit that starts the camera. Release of the arrow causes the bow to vibrate and the damping rod vibrating as it dampens the bow vibrations. Vibration of the damping rod actuates the trembler switch, which causes the camera to start and record the trajectory of the flight of the arrow. For actual hunting, the camera can be manually started prior to arrow release, in order to track movement of the prey.
A counterbalance may be provided on the bow above a horizontal axis thereof when the camera is mounted below the axis. Moreover, in another embodiment, to reduce both weight and potential viewing obstruction, only a camera lens or xe2x80x9ceyecamxe2x80x9d need be mounted on the bow and connected to a video pack, via an electric cord or fibre optic cable, worn on the archer""s belt.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved archery apparatus for viewing an archery shot.
It is another object of the invention to provide an archery apparatus for recording the actual trajectory of an arrow that is released from an archery bow.